True Stories
True Stories are those based (sometimes loosely!) on fact. They cover topics as diverse as drug addiction, poverty, political unrest, the corruption of power, alcoholism, class divisions, sexual inequality, mental illness and other human struggles. Meet some of history's most intriguing characters, find out what it's really like to climb a mountain or paint a masterpiece. Truly, the True Story is one of cinema's most engaging and enthralling genres.
Bio-pics feature in this section and are also gathered together separately under the 'Biography' sublink left.
Pictured: Inside the Las Vegas mob, Scorsese's unromantic 'Goodfellas'
Marco Polo (2007)
6.1/10
Director: Kevin Connor
Starring: Ian Somerhalder, B D Wong, Brian Dennehy
It was the journey that changed the world - the West learned of nations and inventions they had never even dreamed of and the East was introduced to t... Read more
Marley and Me (2008)
Director: David Frankel
Starring: Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston, Eric Dane, Kathleen Turner, Alan Arkin, Ann Dowd,...
Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston embark on the adventures of marriage, career, family - and the world's worst dog. Based on the best-selling autobiogr... Read more
Marquise (1997)
6/10
Director: Vera Belmont
Starring: Sophie Marceau, Thierry Lhermitte, Lambert Wilson
A sprightly, lavish costume drama based on the fetching dancer-cum-thesp who dazzled Moliere, Racine and the Sun King himself before making a suitably... Read more
Mary Queen of Scots (2018)
6.3/10
Director: Josie Rourke
Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Margot Robbie, Guy Pearce, David Tennant, Jack Lowden, Joe Alwyn,...
Queen of France at 16 and widowed at 18, Mary Stuart defies pressure to remarry. Instead, she returns to her native Scotland to reclaim her rightful t... Read more
Mary Queen of Scots (Blu-Ray) (2018)
6.3/10
Director: Josie Rourke
Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Margot Robbie, Guy Pearce, David Tennant, Jack Lowden, Joe Alwyn,...
Queen of France at 16 and widowed at 18, Mary Stuart defies pressure to remarry. Instead, she returns to her native Scotland to reclaim her rightful t... Read more
Mary Shelley (2017)
6.3/10
Director: Haifaa Al-Mansour
Starring: Stephen Dillane, Elle Fanning, Joanne Froggatt, Tom Sturridge, Maisie Williams,...
Mary Wollstonecraft's family disapproves when she and poet Percy Shelley announce their love for each other. The family is horrified when it finds tha... Read more
Mary, Queen of Scots (1971)
7.5/10
Director: Charles Jarrott
Starring: Vanessa Redgrave, Glenda Jackson, Timothy Dalton, Patrick McGoohan, Nigel Davenp...
A resplendent historical tale of ambition and betrayal, capturing the intense rivalry between Queen Elizabeth I (Academy Award winner Glenda Jackson)... Read more
Masada (1981)
7.9/10
Director: Boris Sagal
Starring: Peter O'Toole, Peter Strauss, Barbara Carrera, Nigel Davenport, Anthony Quayle,...
A dramatic true story of courage and faith, this sweeping miniseries is set after the Romans conquered Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Peter O'Toole stars as the... Read more
Mask (1985)
7.2/10
Director: Peter Bogdanovich
Starring: Cher , Eric Stoltz, Sam Elliott
Based on a true story, Bogdanovich's account of a courageous teenager who suffers from a disease that enlarged his head, and who searches for love and... Read more
Mata Hari (1931)
6.7/10
Director: George Fitzmaurice
Starring: Greta Garbo, Ramon Novarro, Lionel Barrymore, Lewis Stone, Karen Morley
Who better to play the famous World War I spy than the Swedish Sphinx, Greta Garbo? She is mesmerising as the dancer-turned-German spy in a wartime P... Read more